In recent years, Hyundai Motor Group has become a true automotive heavyweight. In motorsport, the brand has similarly lofty ambitions and has chosen Michelin to bolster its quest for success.

In 1998, in tandem with its tyre partner Michelin, Hyundai entered the F2 class (for cars with two-litre engines and two-wheel-drive) of the FIA World Rally Championship and a year later, the Hyundai Coupé Kit Car secured the runner-up spoils for the South Korean marque in the final Manufacturers’ standings.

Off the back of this success, Hyundai announced that it would be stepping up to the pinnacle the following season by joining the WRC itself, still alongside Michelin. Going up against rivals of the ilk of Peugeot, Ford, Citroën, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Skoda and Seat, the Hyundai Accent WRC entries earned the brand fourth place in the 2002 Manufacturers’ classification.

A decade later, at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, Hyundai revealed it would be returning to the FIA World Rally Championship in 2014 with Michelin. The team was put together in double-quick time and, during its first summer back in active competition, Hyundai and Michelin toasted an historic one-two finish at Rallye Deutschland.

What’s more, future projects are already well underway, with a new i20 WRC due to be launched in 2016 and another car in the pipeline for 2017...